Jessie Reyez - Yessie

Jessie Reyez AKA Jessica Reyez was born June 12, 1991, to Colombian parents, in Toronto, Canada. She was a dedicated dance student before she developed a passion for music: studying hip-hop dance from junior high to high school. By the time she graduated, Reyez began composing deep tracks, performing on the streets and in Toronto clubs.

“I’d get out at school at 3:00 PM, show up to dance practice at 6:30 PM, practice for three hours till 9:00 PM, get home at midnight, and try to do whatever homework I could before getting back up for 7:00 AM. But I did it because I liked dancing, and I loved the music,” she explained.

But when her boyfriend told her that he was going to be going to be continuing his education in a different country, Jessie’s world shattered. “Me and him got together and fell in love, and when it went to shit when I was 17, it hit me hard as fuck. That’s when I started to write about, real pain, I guess.”........She buried herself in the music room for the remainder of her high school career. “I stopped going to classes and just went to the music class, just locked in the piano room,” she told me. “Thankfully my music teacher totally understood me and he would look out for me. It took me a year and a half to get out of my depression, but that time helped me create things I didn’t know I was capable of.”

She moved to Miami with her parents, but after securing a position as a bartender, she discovered that the city's party-scene was suffocating her originality. Sometime after, a video she recorded for a song received massive views online, she then returned to Toronto and joined the Remix Project. The Remix Project is a program designed for the underprivileged and minorities, teaching young adults about music and art.

Reyez met hip-hop artist King Louie through the Remix Project. In 2014, they teamed up on a song they authored together called 'Living in the Sky', eventually, Reyez was asked to lend her lyricism and singing skills to artists like Diplo, Chance the Rapper, Babyface and Skrillex.

"Kiddo was in the making for two years. It's an assembly of experiences that I went through. The first song that we dropped from the EP was "Figures" and it was about a shitty break-up that I went through. I'm grateful that I got to work with a lot of dope producers like Priest and the Beast, Jahaan Sweet, William Larsen, and Tim Suby, who produced half the EP. On top of that, the calligraphy was done by my nephew, the album cover was shot by my cousin, and the little girl on the cover is my niece. Family over everything."

'Figures', her first hit single, was released in 2016. The following April, she launched a full album- 'Kiddo', tracks include 'Fuck it', 'Shutter Island', 'Blue Ribbon', 'Figures', 'Gate Keeper', Columbian King & Queen and 'Great One'.

Reyez shares a story from her past in "Gatekeeper," a second track on Kiddo.

Misandry and physical molestation are prevalent in the music industry's underbelly.

She believes that a woman's efforts and abilities should be recognized. Although she does not condemn anyone who chooses a different path, she emphasizes that people do not have to accept the notion that taking the wrong path is necessary to succeed. "What it does take is hard work, dedication, and an inner circle of ride or die people who genuinely give a fuck about you and your wellbeing."

“We went to a house that belonged to a Remix alumni,” said Jessie, “and all of King Louie’s camp is there, so we start talking about music and the industry. Then Gavin’s like, ‘maybe you should play something live’ so I pull out my guitar and starting humming the song he heard at The Remix Project the other day.”

Reyez received a Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2018, and later collaborated with; Black Atlass on "Sacrifice," which appeared on the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack, Daniel Caesar in the single "Figures, A Reprise." and Calvin Harris in the single "Hard to Love", Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1 album.

She shared her inspiration for 'Figures', " It was a shitty heartbreak. It was a shitty breakup. And I was just going through it. I was in Sweden at the time. was there for a writing camp. I was writing songswe were going to pitch for other artists and on the fourth day. The way it works—for writers and producers—is kind of like musical chairs. They just switch everyone. I was with these guys Priest and the Beast on the fourth day, and they were like, “We really fuck with you and we want to keep you for an extra week and during that week we can work on anything. It doesn’t have to be stuff we have to pitch. We can work on your stuff, too.”

So, I ended up staying and it was a blessing. You know when you breakup with someone and you have memories in that city? You don’t want to be with them in that city because then your heartbreak is just hard to heal the wound when you’re in it. I feel like it was a blessing that I got asked to stay there. The pain goes with you if it hurts enough, so I was there with it, and it just came out on a song. It was me, Priest and the Beast and Shy, and that shit just came out of me, man. It was just a sad sad song.

She was later enlisted by Eminem for two songs on his album Kamikaze, "Good Guy" and "Nice Guy," as well as a second reunion with Eminem on 'Coffin' (her album 'BEFORE LOVE CAME TO KILL US'). She also emerged on "Promises," a collaboration single by Sam Smith and Calvin Harris.

Being Human in Public was released October 19, 2018. The seven track album gave us hits like 'Saint Nobody', 'Apple Juice', 'Sola', 'F***d by friends', 'Dear Yessie', "Imported" (In this line, Jessie is referring to her Canadian-Colombian roots) and "Body Count,"(What’s your kill count? How many people have you slept with? How many people have you fucked? That is your body count or your kill count.) a collaboration with Normani and Kehlani. The EP was shortlisted for a Grammy in the category of Best Urban Contemporary Album and won a Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year.

She surmised in writing the song 'Imported'....What “I’m not from here, I’m imported” means to the overall narrative of the song, is, basically I’m imported into someone else’s life. Or your imported to my life. When something doesn’t, I guess, blossom as a fairy tale and you spend weeks together, and all that stuff, and it happens quicker, I feel like its more apparent someone’s been placed into that spot.

What’s your kill count? How many people have you slept with? How many people have you fucked? That is your body count or your kill count.

For the record, I think it’s perfectly okay for both to have whatever body count. Whether men has less or a woman has more. Whatever that is. I think that’s okay. The premise, the thing that I think drove my frustration is just standing in it and being proud of it and not letting anybody judge it. You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to. It’s your choice. If you want to, it’s your choice. If you want to keep it private. From my perspective, because I feel like I still strive to be more confident. I still strive to be more comfortable. I still have insecurities, but it’s something that I’ve worked on and I feel like I’ve gotten better about just being comfortable in my own skin and being comfortable with my sexuality and not being ashamed of it. Not being ashamed of making dirty jokes.......

Reyez makes her directorial debut in this single- 'Fraud', released

June 24, 2022, alongside co-director Emma Higgins. The vivid clip features Reyez and a group of women who paint the walls red with blood while dealing with a couple of devilish men. They soon find themselves in a lush setting, where flowers bloom, making their own kind of Garden of Eden, free from the evil. While the song marks the return of Reyez’s solo work, she also made a cameo on Beyoncé’s Black Is King visual album in 2020.

In both song and video, "Fraud" tells the tale of forbidden love, with the songstress finding herself underneath the control of an unknown force that ceaselessly drags her back to a person who doesn't love her as she does. Reyez embodies frailty as a way to end the cycle of harsh sentimentality and finally free herself.

"Yessie" is the title of her most recent album, launched September 16, 2022. The eleven track album gives hits such as 'Forever', 'Adios Amore', 'Only One', 'Mutual Friend', 'Mood', 'Break me down', 'Still C U', 'Tito's', 'Queen St W', 'Hittin' and 'Emotional detachment demo' . Since its publication, the album has received favorable reactions and gaining popularity due to its excellent track selection.

In "Mutual Friend," the singer is entrenched in her position, unmoved by her ex's attempts to make amends. With lines like, "Our mutual friend said you've been calling / And said you're sorry and said you wish we could talk / Well guess what? / You're about seven months late," her message is crystal-clear repentance is really not required in the process of letting go.

What inspired “Mutual Friend”?

Life. Everything. Everything that's in there is what happened. I showed my friend just a day after. He was like, "What the f*ck? What the f*ck?” The conversation that we had 24 f*cking hours ago is a song now? What the f*ck?" So it just hasn't changed, because it's just me talking about life.

Her music is a source of inspiration and solace. Her identity sharpens her diversity, with success honed by her sharp wit, which is further emphasized by her spirit.

“What I’ve understood is that sometimes you need to use that anger as a lily pad to keep it moving,” said Reyez in an interview with CBC News last month. The 31-year-old singer-songwriter had just finished a soundcheck for the second of two homecoming shows in Toronto.

“There are people who live their [whole] lives and they’ve held onto anger for years, and the only person that that harms is the person holding it.”

"ADIÓS AMOR" is a twin turn of phrase meant for the loss of an ex partner and the relieve of the concept of feeling love. Reyez finally let go of his angst, worry, and desire for an ideal match and relationship in this symbolic song.

“‘Adios Amor’ was one of those songs that ended up having 22 versions. It was one of those songs that where I took the production apart multiple times to find the perfect instrumentation. Jean Rodriguez, Andres Levin, and I initially wrote the song in a small hotel room, and I knew from the moment we finished it that it was special; it just hadn’t found its final place yet. Then one of my favorite producers, Tim Suby, was able to take it to its fullest potential, and that’s how ‘Adios Amor’ was born,” explains Reyez.

Finally, "Forever" is another artistic piece that has received a lot of attention, released September 16, 2022. ​​​​​​​​"Forever," was co-produced by Jessie and Pomo and featuring 6lack. We find Jessie Reyez and 6lack trading great vocal harmonies and melody, making it one of the album's standout tracks. Jessie expresses her desire to spend the future with a love interest, and 6lacks expresses feelings on the track.

You have one feature on this album, and it’s with 6LACK. This is the second time you collab with him. The musical chemistry and the energy between the both of you is palpable. How did this song with the two of you, "FOREVER," com e about?

At this point, we're just homies. So I just hit him up and was like, “I need you to bless this.” He was like “bet,” and he did. It's so nice when you're a fan of someone's artistry and then you meet them and they’re fucking cool.

Lyrics from Genius

[Intro: Unknown]

Oh, somebody!

Oh, somebody!

Oh, somebody!

Oh, somebody!

[Verse 1: Jessie Reyez]

Passwords

That means you love me, I can give you what you ask for

Say you need a shooter, I can do it from the half-court

I can change your life up, painting murals on your passport (Louie)

Future kids all on the dashboard

[Pre-Chorus: Jessie Reyez]

Ooh

I like every flaw I see in you

This is all new

But I hope I got what you need too

(I hope I got what you need)

[Chorus: Jessie Reyez]

'Cause sometimes somebody loves somebody

But that body don't love 'em back

And it's easy to say that you didn't know

You didn't know what you had

But you don't, you're educated

You know that they don't make 'em

Like me anymore

So you pull me in close and say

[Post-Chorus: Jessie Reyez]

Stay forevеr

(I think you should put your bag down, you should never leavе)

Baby, you should stay forever

(I think you should put your bag down, you should never leave)

Baby, you should stay forever

Forever, ah-ah-ah

Forever, ah-ah-ah-ah

Forever, ah-ah-ah

[Verse 2: 6LACK]

Passwords, passports

I'ma have to treat you like a landlord

I want you to stay, save the moment

Gotta put it on the camcorder

She a all-star, pornstar

Throw it up and catch it off the backboard

I'ma give you everything that you ask for

Like you kick down the door on some task force shit

Credit card numbers

Four digit pin, social security

You could be happy, you should be happy

Long as you here with me

They could never get between us

Said we would never ever leave us

That was a while ago

[Chorus: Jessie Reyez & 6LACK]

'Cause sometimes somebody loves somebody

But that body don't love 'em back

And it's easy to say that you didn't know

You didn't know what you had

But you don't, you're educated

You know that they don't make 'em

Like me anymore

So you pull me in close and say

[Post-Chorus: Jessie Reyez & 6LACK]

Stay forever

(I think you should put your bag down, you should never leave)

Baby, you should stay forever

(I think you should put your bag down, you should never leave)

Baby, you should stay forever

Forever, ah-ah-ah

Forever, ah-ah-ah-ah

Forever, ah-ah-ah

If you decide to purchase any item using our referral/affiliate links, be aware, we may receive a portion of the sales as commission, i.e. if you purchase a product/service.

To shop, select or click buttons, links or images, you will be redirected to product pages. Please, carefully research before you purchase. Feel free to share and leave a comment, we would love to hear from you. Your feedback is very important to us.

For more like this, music, literature, news, fashion, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Steven Wick News Letter.

We here at the Steven Wick Blog are so proud of our work, we’d like to thank you for being a part of our community. However, our mission to share so much from music, literature, lifestyle to fashion is a 24/7 undertaking! We need your help to continue our work. Your financial donation will help us not only keep the lights on, but enable us run many more stories in the future to come. DONATE HERE